Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, blogosphere! Wishing you and your families a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends and laughter.

xoxo
Jessica

(This is from an ugly sweater party. I promise I don't dress like that normally.)

Lull in blogging

Part of it is due to the fact that the shutter broke on our camera and had to be sent back to Canon to be fixed.

Part of it is due to the craziness of the holidays.

Part of it is due to spending too much time on my other blog.

Part of it is due to laziness.

Back soon, I promise.

Phillies versus Yankees

I do NOT want to talk about how the game went. Or how the series is going. Or about Cole Hamels.

All of that aside, here are a few pictures taken at Game Four of the World Series at Citizens Bank Park over the weekend. Geoff and I took pity on my sister and father, who are both Yankee fans, and brought them to the game with us. We should have known better ;)

Go Phillies!

We are the champions, my friends

The National League Champions, that is.


(Image via Philly.com)

Okay, I'm going to tell you right now that the likelihood of me posting with any regularity in the next two weeks is slim to none. Why, you ask? Well, because the Philadelphia Phillies are going to the World Series for the second year in a row!

And my husband and I happen to be season ticket holders, which means lots of time spent at Citizens Bank Park, lots of screaming, and very little sleep. I'm already a zombie this week, after being at games on Sunday and last night, and it's only going to get worse from here.

However, a small price to pay for victory. Bring on the Yankees!

Honor and dedication

This past weekend, Geoff and I visited my sister in Washington D.C. More pictures to come of our rainy weekend, but here's my favorite shot. It was taken at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. If you've never seen the changing of the guard, please add it to your bucket list. It's a must see.

Fall fun

This post is long overdue, but better late than never, right? Geoff and I went out to Bethlehem a few weeks ago to visit his grandmother, Grace. We had a great day, checking out the Celtic Festival in town, going apple picking, walking her dog, and enjoying some nice meals. Here are some pictures from the day.

Side note re: I ♥ Faces

Okay, I know the point of I ♥ Faces is for photographers to have fun, learn something, and get eyeball on their photos. So, I should probably be nice. But this has been brewing for a few weeks, so I have to say something.

The instructions for I ♥ Faces' weekly challenges are pretty simple. Create a new blog post with ONE picture that goes along with the challenge for the week. Include the I ♥ Faces button, or a link to the site. Oh, and make sure your photo shows at least one face.

Not too tough, right? Well, every week I make sure to click on as many entries as I have time for (keeping the blogger karma going) and comment on the ones I really like. I can't tell you how many posts:

1. Don't have any faces shown. Hello people, it's called I ♥ Faces, not I ♥ Pretty Scenery.
2. Don't link back to the original post. Come on, these people are providing us with a great site, you can't oblige them with a linkback?
3. Ignore the challenge rules. Like this week, the description clearly states: "If you'd like to incorporate a "blue" expression on the face, that would awesome as well, but please make sure that the color blue is a strong feature of your photo as well." Well, apparently to some people, those rules don't apply. Because I saw at least one black and white photo with a picture of a person who looks sad. Not the kind of blue this challenge was going for.

I know, I need to get over it. But it's been one of those days, and I just needed to vent. Vent over now :)

I ♥ Faces - Week 38 - Blue

Well, it's a good thing for I ♥ Faces, because it's the only posting I'm doing these days. I was hoping to take a new picture for this week's challenge, but I ran out of time.

So, I'm going to submit this shot of my favorite little model, Jack. This was taken a few months ago, before he was walking, when his favorite thing to do was to climb up the stairs. He'd go up, someone would carry him down, and he'd go up again.



I figured this works for the blue challenge since he was rocking his ADORABLE blue plaid shirt. What a stud.

Check out the rest of this week's entries at I ♥ Faces!

I ♥ Faces - Week 37 - Completely Candid

This week's I ♥ Faces challenge calls for "Completely Candid" shots. After doing a bit of browsing through my Flickr account, I came across a picture from a friend's wedding that I posted about earlier this summer.



I know it's not the best picture out there (or even the best one I've taken), but I love that she's so into the music and dancing. I've never seen a bride get this down and dirty on the dance floor -- it was so fun to watch!

Check out all of the other entries from this week on I ♥ Faces!

I ♥ Faces - Week 36 - Contemplative Faces

This week's I ♥ Faces challenge is for "contemplative" faces. As soon as I saw that, I knew which picture I wanted to post.



I took about 30 different pictures of my cousin's son Jack devouring his little cake at his first birthday party last month. Looking back through the pictures was so fun. Some of the pictures showed pure joy, some showed nothing but his face stuck in the cake, and a few, like this one, look contemplative.

Why's everybody staring at me - can't a man just eat his cake in peace?

Why are the making me wear this stupid hat? Is this a punishment? Hmm, what have I done wrong lately?

I wonder if this cake is going to give me a tummyache...

How am I going to get that icing out of my ears and nose?

Oh, to be able to listen to the thoughts of small children!

Big birthday weekend

Happy Monday everyone! This past weekend was pretty crazy, because my mother's birthday was on Friday (yes, September 11th) and my mother-in-law's birthday was on Thursday. So, we had to try to figure out how to see everyone to celebrate. And the fact that my husband had Phillies tickets for Friday night didn't help.

So Friday night consisted of me and him sitting in raincoats and under ponchos at the Phillies game, a game that they luckily won. On a side note, the guy who has the season tickets next to ours wrote a book about the 2008 Phillies and included a picture of us after they won the World Series last year. Can't wait to see the book, but I hope this doesn't count as my 15 minutes of fame.


(Here's us at a much sunnier game, since I didn't take pictures on Friday.)

On Saturday morning, we drove out to Jersey to spend the day with my family for my mom's birthday. There was good food, lots of laughter, a serious game of Taboo, and of course presents. Then my poor husband had to sit (read: fall asleep on the couch) through yet another round of "Who's the latest high school classmate that's pregnant/in jail/married/still living at home." It's a game that my mom and I seem to play quite a bit. There is no question where my love of gossip comes from!

We headed back on Sunday morning so that Geoff could get back for his first softball game of the season. Being a delinquent wife, I stayed at home and took up residence on the couch since I was tired from being up so late chatting with my parents the night before, while Geoff snoozed on the couch. I caught bits and pieces of the Eagles' game, and then topped off the weekend with a fabulous dinner at Legal Sea Foods to celebrate Geoff's mom's birthday. Wine, seafood casserole and chocolate mousse all in one meal = a happy Jessica whose pants are a bit too tight.

Good times, but once again it's Monday, and I'm exhausted. On the bright side, fall TV is back in full force, and tonight I get to indulge my inner 14 year-old girl with Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill! It's the small things that get me through the day...

Wrapping up the summer

Summer may not officially be over for another two weeks, but it certainly feels over today. Although, as my husband wisely pointed out last night, summer doesn't have quite the same appeal after college graduation, unless you're a teacher. And let me tell you, if I saw one more Facebook status update from a teacher friend who was traveling to Europe during their vacation, I was going to lose it.

Anyway, hopefully I'll be posting more regularly now that the crazy summer is over.

While Geoff and I seemed to be the only people in the Philadelphia region who didn't trek down to Avalon or Sea Isle City this weekend, we still enjoyed the gorgeous weather. And we hosted our first dinner for more than four people last night! Both of our sets of parents, as well as my aunt and Geoff's younger brother came over for dinner last night. It's amazing how a relatively simple meal becomes quite a bit more complicated when you're making it for eight people. However, dinner was a success (largely thanks to my helpers -- both moms and my aunt) and Geoff only had to be sent on errands twice (one missing ingredient and an empty propane tank). Overall, I consider it a success.

Sadly, no pictures to share -- I was too busy directing everyone around the kitchen and making lime margarita cupcakes. Mmmm. Email me if you want the recipe!

Living strong

As I mentioned last week, this Sunday was my third year participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge. Every year, I am amazed by the size and scope of the event, and every year I plan immediately to go back next year. But what I forget each time, is how profoundly I am touched by the survivors and other participants of the Challenge. Events like this can really put your life into perspective.

Husband driving you crazy?



At the finish line, there are two lanes, one for survivors, one for everyone else. This couple was walking in front of us as we neared the finish. As they got close to the end, the man (a survivor) grabbed her hand as they walked in their separate lanes across the finish line.

Kids making you nuts?



This five year old girl crossed the finish line in the survivor lane, with her mother on the opposite side. She was asked to come up to the podium and given a prize because, well, she's five years old and is a cancer survivor. She was so sweet and timid, and it's impossible to imagine the things she's already been through in her short life.

This year I'm going to try to remember that little girl and that strong couple, whenever my very blessed life seems too difficult. It's amazing how much we take for granted.

On a lighter note, here are a few pictures of my friends and me before and after the walk/run/ride.







On one last note, thank you to my friends and family who donated to my fundraising efforts this year -- it is greatly appreciated!!

Photoshopping babies

My cousin's son turned one last week, so there was a big birthday party for him over the weekend. Full report and pictures to come, but for now, here are a couple of pictures that I've been playing around with on Photoshop. The first one is Jack, the birthday boy, and the other is Ben, a friend's 4 month old. Such cuties!

Don't call me baby

"Hey hun!"

"What's up girlie?"

"What can I get for you sweetie?"

Are you my husband? Are you my mother or father? No? Then don't call me hun/girlie/sweetie/your choice of annoying name.

If you do, and we don't know each other, I will assume that you are being way too comfortable with me, which will result in dirty looks.

If you do, and I DO know you, I will assume that you have forgotten my name and get offended, which will result in dirty looks.

Bottom line, save the pet names for your dog or your significant other. Not for me. Okay? Glad we had this talk.

P.S. I know this is supposed to be a photo blog and I haven't actually posted pictures in a while, but I'm getting to it. Plus I've been grouchy all week, so please indulge me in my bitching and moaning.

Go ahead, pick a fight

I will be participating in the Philadelphia LIVESTRONG Challenge for the third year this Sunday. LIVESTRONG, if you're not aware, is Lance Armstrong's charity that raises money to help cancer patients and their families.

I participate in this event in honor of some important people in my life who have battled cancer, some overcoming the disease, some losing their lives to it. And this year, I walk in support of my good friend, who lost her mother to breast cancer this year.

The LIVESTRONG Challenge is an amazing event that touches the lives of not only the 6,000+ participants in Philly alone, but many families who will be helped by the over $3 million dollars that has been raised this year. If you feel so inspired, you can donate to my fundraising efforts through this link.

And I would highly encourage you to consider participating in the Challenge in 2010 (it takes place in several cities across the country) if you've never done so before -- you won't regret it. I'll be taking lots of pictures on Sunday, and I'll be sure to share them next week.

Here's my team at the event last year. All a little bit tired, but it was a great time!

No, you're not the only one

If you've already seen this, I apologize. But I just got a viral email that made me laugh out loud, so I thought I'd share. I pulled out the points that I liked the most, because there were about 100 of them. Basically, these are all wise thoughts from 20-somethings, a majority of which you have probably thought yourself.

• I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
• I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
• That's enough, Nickelback.
• I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
• There is a great need for sarcasm font.
• Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
• I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
• How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
• LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
• Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart," all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart."
  
• How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
• I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
• While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
• MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
• Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
• I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
• Bad decisions make good stories.
• You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
• I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
• I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
• I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
• Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
• It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
• I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

My personal favorite is the one about keeping numbers in your phone -- this is an essential survival strategy, let me tell you.

Can I go back to college?

If there happen to be any college students reading this, I have a piece of advice for you. DON'T GRADUATE. My suggestion would be to go the route of "Mendel Doug," the famed Villanova student who reportedly stuck around for about 8 years without graduating (reports on his actual tenure are varied). Because he was too dumb to finish? No. Because he was smart enough to know that these are the best days of our lives (yes, I know I'm stealing song lyrics).

Nasty cafeteria food, tiny dorm rooms (eek, the closet space!), finals, papers -- there's plenty about college that is not particularly appealing. But you will never have a social scene like that again. Random Wednesday night and you're bored? Guaranteed you can find friends to hit mug night at a local bar with. Weekend nights? You and your whole pack of friends probably have your choice of 5 different mixers/parties/open bars to pick from.

Then you graduate. And hopefully find a job. And your friends scatter around the country looking for jobs of their own. And it's never the same again.



One of my best friends from college moved to Connecticut this weekend, where she'll be getting her Masters degree at Yale (fancy schmancy Ivy girl). I'm so excited for her, but I also know that she doesn't have family in Philly anymore since her parents retired to the Southwest, so she doesn't have much of a reason to come back here. Which means, other than planned trips to CT, or her coming back to visit me, we're not going to see much of each other. Which sucks.

Don't get me wrong, I love my life. I have a wonderful husband and I have been lucky enough to fit in really well with his girlfriends who live locally, but somehow not being able to have a spur of the moment girls' night with the friends who saw me through the ups and downs of college is depressing.

So until I convince them all to move back to Philly (from Connecticut, Chicago, DC, Jersey, etc.), there will be lots of Facebooking, Gchatting, e-mailing and texting to get us through. And, of course, daydreaming about the days of college when all of your friends lived within a 5 mile radius. Sigh.

Chasey gets photoshopped

I mentioned last month that Geoff got me Photoshop Elements as a birthday gift. I haven't really done much with it yet because I'm completely overwhelmed by it, but I figured I should start playing around with.

Don't expect too much - at the moment I'm still working on the basics, but you've got to start somewhere, right?

Anyway, here's Chasey, with some minor Photoshopping. More to come as I (hopefully) learn some new things.

Bringing some life into the house

There's nothing like fresh flowers in the house. I bought these gladiolus at the grocery store and they keep getting more beautiful as they bloom.



My grandmother always had the most beautiful orchids at her house. When she passed away, I adopted one of her plants, which I'm trying hard not to kill (my mother doesn't have such good luck with them). So far, so good.

I ♥ Faces - Week 31 - Crazy, Silly Faces

I discovered I ♥ Faces about a month ago, and am completely enamored with the site. Each week, they have a contest where visitors are encouraged to post pictures in a certain category, which are reviewed by a judge who picks his/her favorites.

I've never thrown my hat in the ring before, but there's no time like the present, so here it goes! This week's category is Crazy, Silly Faces. Most people have pictures of little kids being funny. I have my husband.





I keep telling him that his face is going to get stuck that way, but he never listens.

And the "Just for Fun" category is Pets, so of course, here is Chasey.





Head over to I ♥ Faces for tons of great shots, you'll be sucked in in no time!

Down by the boardwalk

I have no regrets about taking a full two weeks for our honeymoon, but it does mean that I'm left with very little vacation time for the year. Which also means, no summer vacation. However, my aunt and uncle rented a house down in Ocean City for a couple of weeks, and they were generous enough to invite my family for a couple of nights.

Unfortunately, we managed to time our trip perfectly with monsoon season at the Jersey shore, so we spent most of our time in the house, but we squeezed in a trip to Atlantic City and to Brown's for homemade donuts.

Overcast skies didn't keep the crowds of people off of the boardwalk.



The sun was nowhere to be found, which is for the best for me and my pasty skin.





Hanging at the house.





Playing hairdresser. Clearly we were bored.



I hope that everyone out there is going on fabulous vacations that are not getting rained on!

Does that come in my size?

My cousin's wife is pregnant with their first child, which will mark the first grandchild on my dad's side of the family. Over the weekend we had a baby shower, where the mommy-to-be received some ADORABLE gifts. And really -- I would like some of those clothes in my size.











I can't wait to meet this baby!